Wire Lubrication & Clean Wire

PUBLISHED: 05 Mar 07

The new GPS/PDH wire re-coating system greatly improves the present state of both wire lubrication and in-line wire cleaning. The system enables high-speed "frictionless" drawing, benefiting from the wire dry re-coating in intermediate drafts with completely water soluble sodium lubricants. Full film coatings are achieved in a wide variety of selections from ultra thin for plating wire through a strongly adherent hard coat for spring wire, cold heading wire, etc.

The GPS/PDH system features an increased lubricant coat weight by 55 to 60% in one intermediate draft with H/C wire and with sodium lubricants enabling frictionless drawing by physical separation of metal-to-metal contact at wire-die interface ( full film lubrication ), with speed limitation hardly predictable dependent mainly on wire/rod pay-off and take-up modes.

The users report elimination of wet pre-coatings ( phosphate, borax, and their substitutes ) for all direct drawing applications including steel rod of 0.88 - 0.90 % carbon content, the use of standard/traditional die-stands without any modification of die geometry with finishing die producing 50 tonnes of H/C wire drawn without wet pre-coating chemicals, and the use of customer standard sodium lubricants with lubricant viscosity maintained at all speeds eliminating flow turbulence in wire-die interface.

The GPS/PDH system allows wire coating/re-coating, lubrication with sodium lubricants and frictionless smooth drawing - essential in production of clean wire and plating wire of reflective appearance. Wire surface finish is greatly improved, with total absence of scoring (full film lubrication).

The system operates in closed circuit lubrication at "zero" energy consumption and �zero" lubricant consumption / waste, reducing drawing machine downtime by at least 50%. The unit can be easily installed into the existing soap-box and it can be operational within 10 min.

(a) In a dry application, the unit is installed in the last drafts operating with a hard "ripping" completely water soluble lubrication product, continuously renewed in an "IN" and "OUT" motion in closed circuit at wire speed, forming a consistent pressure pad all around the wire, ripping off lubricant residual. In this application the GPS/PDH unit simultaneously performs wire surface cleaning and polishing effect, in a single run.

(b) In a wet application, the unit is installed in last drafts operating with a paste in a continuous "IN" and "OUT" motion in closed circuit pressure lubrication self generated by the unit itself eliminating wire �tunnelling� effect, enabling higher speed. A light draft performs cleaning, polishing and provides a reflective wire appearance, in a single run.

A combination of the two applications (dry and wet), in-line, provides a Highly Reflective wire product.